Latest news with #binstrike
The Guardian
18 hours ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Birmingham bin dispute could run until December after vote for more strikes
The bin strike in Birmingham could last until December after nearly 400 workers voted to continue industrial action. Unite, the trade union representing the striking workers, said 97% of workers voted in favour of further strike action in its latest ballot on a 75% turnout. Unite's general secretary, Sharon Graham, said: 'Unite will not allow these workers to be financially ruined. The strikes will continue for as long as it takes. Unite calls on the decision makers to let common sense prevail in upcoming negotiations.' Bin workers in Birmingham have been striking since January and walked out indefinitely in March in a dispute over job and pay cuts. Piles of black bags in the streets and overflowing wheelie bins have led to an influx of rats in some parts of the city. Huge queues have formed at mobile waste collection points as residents try to get rid of their rubbish. Police were called to shut down roads because of overwhelming crowds on one occasion. The city council made a renewed offer to the workers last week after mediated negotiations, but Unite said it was too little and too late. 'After smearing these workers in public since January and telling them to accept a fair and reasonable offer that never existed, the council finally put a proposal in writing last week,' Graham said. 'True to form, the proposal came weeks late and was not in line with the ballpark offer discussed during Acas talks in May.' She said government commissioners brought in to oversee the running of the council after it declared itself effectively bankrupt in 2023 had 'watered down the deal' despite not taking part in negotiations. Relations between striking workers and the council have continued to deteriorate, and in recent weeks the council was granted a court order to stop waste vehicles being blocked from leaving depots by those on the picket line. It said more than 12,000 tonnes of uncollected waste had accumulated on the streets one week in May because collections were disrupted 'due to industrial action by pickets' where police had scaled down their presence. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion Unite has insisted the actions of its members have always been lawful and peaceful. The union says 170 workers face losing up to £8,000 a year under the council's current proposals, but the council has disputed this, insisting only 17 people could lose a maximum of £6,000 and that all have been offered alternative roles on the same pay grade. A council spokesperson said: 'This is a service that needs to be transformed to one that citizens of Birmingham deserve and the council remains committed to resolving this dispute. 'We have made a fair and reasonable offer that we have asked Unite to put to their members and we are awaiting their response.' The council denied that its leader or the commissioners had watered down any offer, and said Unite's ballot was not a response to its latest offer made through Acas.
Daily Mail
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Bin strike barons behind Birmingham's long-running union action accuse Keir Starmer's government of 'sabotaging' talks
Union bosses at the heart of Birmingham 's festering bin strike have accused Government-appointed commissioners of 'sabotaging' peace talks and claim Keir Starmer 's Labour-led Government is complicit in blocking a deal. The all-out strike by members of Unite has dragged on for more than two months, leaving piles of rubbish rotting in the streets of Britain's second largest city and prompting fury from long-suffering residents. Despite conciliation service Acas stepping in earlier this month, the stand-off remains deadlocked and now the union is pointing the finger squarely at Whitehall officials parachuted in after the council's effective bankruptcy last year. Unite said the talks set out a clear timeline for a discussed offer to be tabled by the council, but it claimed no offer has been made. It said: 'What has become increasingly clear is that the offer is now being blocked by the Government commissions and the leader of the council, none of whom have ever been in the negotiating room. 'At the Acas talks, the council side was headed up for the first time by Birmingham council managing director Joanne Roney. She assured the meeting that she was the decision maker and at the table to negotiate. Discussions then took place in good faith. 'This latest debacle comes after it was confirmed that the 'fair and reasonable offer' that the Prime Minister, deputy prime minister and the leader of the council had been briefing to the press, urging Unite to accept, did not exist.' Unite national lead officer Onay Kasab. The all-out strike by members of Unite has dragged on for more than two months, leaving piles of rubbish rotting in the streets of Britain's second largest city Unite general secretary Sharon Graham (pictured at a protest in London last year) said: 'Unite deals with thousands of negotiations every year. From the council side, the negotiations in this dispute have been a shambles, with the government right at the heart of it' Unite said it had been asking for a copy of the offer since the start of the Acas talks, but was still waiting. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: 'Unite deals with thousands of negotiations every year. From the council side, the negotiations in this dispute have been a shambles, with the government right at the heart of it. 'The offer briefed to the press for all affected workers simply never existed and the new ballpark offer discussed at Acas has now been blocked by Government commissioners. Instead of trying to injunct picket lines and attack workers, the council leader should stop playing games, get in the room and solve this dispute. 'Birmingham city council's bin workers, residents and the public at large have all been lied to. 'The bottom line is that our members can't afford to have savage pay cuts of up to £8,000 with no mitigation. Until that issue is addressed the strikes will continue. 'If Labour is truly the party for workers, how can this Government be aiding and abetting these cuts and once again allowing workers and communities to pay the price?' Unite said in a statement: 'Talks aimed at resolving the Birmingham bin strike have been sabotaged by government commissioners.' Rotting rubbish is still piling up in Birmingham despite council claims that collections are back to normal. Pictures show huge mounds of bin bags spilling out over pavements in England's second city. Birmingham City Council says it has cleared 100 per cent of the large piles of waste in hot-spot areas and 85 per cent of rubbish from the rest of the city. But grim images show overflowing bins, split rubbish bags and rotting food strewn across residential streets. Photographs taken in Bordesley Green last week show old boxes and waste dumped on the pavements and roads. Another shot shows a red wheelie bin crammed with trash next to bulging bin bags piled up on the path. Graham Marlow, 45, who lives in the area, said: 'How the council can keep a straight face and say they have everything under control is mad. 'They only need to come down from their ivory towers and have a look at the streets to know the city is still waist deep in rubbish. 'My family are sick of it. I'm sick of it. I can't wait to leave this city. It's little wonder people now call Birmingham Scummy Brum.' More pictures show fly-tipping is still plaguing the city, with old beds, mattresses, shop mannequins and even an industrial-sized freezer being dumped on the streets. Other images show how residents have struggled to even park their cars as the mountains of rubbish swamps residential areas. The bin strike has attracted worldwide attention with shocking pictures of giant 'cat-sized' rats chasing council workers. Disabled people reliant on wheelchairs have also been trapped in their homes by piles of rubbish dumped on pavements and in alleyways. Opposition politicians have accused the Labour-led council of failing to end the dispute. Birmingham's Conservative leader councillor Robert Alden said: 'What we've seen sadly over the last two weeks, since national support from the army has been withdrawn, [is that] bin lorries have not been going out again. 'Indeed by the end of the week, barely any bin lorries were going out and that's leading to more rubbish starting to build up on the streets.'
Sky News
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
Birmingham bin strike: Talks to end walkout are being 'sabotaged', union claims
Government commissioners have been accused of "sabotaging" negotiations to end the long-running bin strike in Birmingham. According to the Unite union, the city council has missed three deadlines to submit a revised pay offer for workers since talks began on 1 May. Officials claim it has become "increasingly clear" that government commissioners and the council's leader have blocked the offer from being made. And while the government argues a "fair and reasonable offer" has already been made to refuse workers, Unite alleges this does not exist. 2:28 General secretary Sharon Graham said: "Unite deals with thousands of negotiations every year. From the council side, the negotiations in this dispute have been a shambles, with the government right at the heart of it." She claimed the leader of Birmingham City Council "should stop playing games, get in the room and solve this dispute" - adding: "Bin workers, residents and the public at large have all been lied to. "The bottom line is that our members can't afford to have savage pay cuts of up to £8,000 with no mitigation. Until that issue is addressed the strikes will continue." effectively declared itself bankrupt in September 2023. Unite's members have been on all-out strike for more than two months in a row over pay and jobs, with rubbish piling up on the city's streets. 1:09 A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: "It is simply false to suggest the commissioners or the leader of the council have blocked attempts to resolve this deal, and we continue to urge Unite to suspend its strike action and both parties to reach agreement on a fair and reasonable offer." Meanwhile, a Birmingham City Council spokesperson said it is "fully committed" to ending the dispute - and it is "untrue" to imply its leader is blocking the process. "Our focus has been to find a solution to this that does not put the council in a position that compromises us financially and legally," they added. "This is a service that needs to be transformed to one that citizens of Birmingham deserve."
BBC News
19-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Calls for police to maintain Birmingham bin strike presence
Calls have been made for the police to maintain their presence at Birmingham bin strike picket lines as collections continued to be Harmer, Lib Dem leader on the city council, urged police not to wait until the city reached crisis point before stepping comments came after the number of officers sent to police the picket lines were cut and amid reports of bin lorries being blocked by striking workers at Monday lorries were seen driving up to depot gates in Tyseley but parking up inside as striking workers stood outside. West Midlands Police said it would continue to assess the situation and ensure its presence is in line with its core policing responsibilities. Why are Birmingham's bin workers on strike?Bin strike exposes divide between rich and poorI haven't had my recycling collected since JanuaryHarmer urged West Midlands Police to have a "consistent presence" at picket lines and not to wait "until the city reaches crisis point again"."Human-height mounds of black bags" became commonplace in the city and Harmer described it as "a national embarrassment and terrible for the city's reputation"."The police have powers to stop strikers from obstructing working crews – they should not wait for the city to reach crisis point again before acting," he added. Police patrols had previously helped secure the smooth exit of trucks from depots in recent weeks by using powers under Section 14 of the Public Order Act, a law used around public a force spokesperson confirmed those powers were no longer in place as the issue "does not currently meet the threshold".It came after waste collections were disrupted on Thursday when bin lorries were blocked from leaving two depots by striking refuse workers, leading to reports of rubbish piling up in parts of the city were parked nearby and were seen getting out of their patrol cars but they remained a distance away. The council said it was not safe for their trucks to leave the depot due to the police no longer using their Section 14 powers."The gates had been locked for safety reasons, and we had already attempted to get lorries out of the depot. The gates were reopened at 8 am," it Unite, which organised the strike, has been approached for a comment on Monday's picket all-out strike began on 11 March in a dispute with the council over plans to downgrade the roles of drivers, which the union said would see pay cuts of up to £8,000. This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations. Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
16-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Birmingham bin strikes: Police cut officer numbers on pickets
Policing of Birmingham bin strike picket lines to protect rubbish collections has been cut back, it has emerged. Powers under Section 14 of the Public Order Act, are "no longer in place", West Midlands Police confirmed, with the city council saying it was warned of the move just hours legislation had been used to prevent strikers from delaying trucks as they left depots in the city, however on Thursday, there were locked gates at two of Birmingham City Council's three depots, as police withdrew who are Unite union members have been involved in all-out industrial action since 11 March in a pay row that now also includes a dispute over bin lorry drivers' wages. Police patrols had helped to secure the smooth exit of trucks in the recent weeks, but reduced powers now meant piles of rubbish had started to reappear in parts of the Thursday however, the locked gates at the Atlas, Tyseley and Lifford, Kings Norton depots meant collections in the south, centre and east of the city were disrupted with waste left uncollected, the city council said. At the height of the dispute before Section 14 powers were used, more than 17,000 tonnes of waste accumulated in the city, prompting the authority to declare a major incident. 'Less than 24 hours' notice' In April, days after the incident was declared, Chief Constable Craig Guildford laughed when faced with suggestions he should resign over a failure to intervene at the days later, following the visit of government ministers to the city, officers stepped in to prevent delaying tactics by striking a statement a police spokesperson said: "There continues to be a police presence at the sites in line with our core policing responsibilities", but they did not acknowledge why the reduction in officers involved had been BBC had been told the city council was given less than 24 hours notice of the changes and the authority warned disruption was likely to increase in the coming days."We are grateful for [the police's] ongoing support and will be looking at all of our options so we are able to try and maintain a service to residents," a council spokesperson said. "However, if we see the level of disruption we saw at the start of the strike this may not be possible." Although the picture is patchy, a council source acknowledged that the amount of uncollected rubbish had started to build again and likened managing the situation to "a game of jenga."Residents have told the BBC that despite the council claiming to offer everybody a rubbish collection once a week, some areas had not had collections since mid this was put to the council in April, it said disruptions were down to Unite union members blocking refuse trucks from leaving depots, and therefore preventing crews from collecting residents' March, workers protesting at the Tyseley depot insisted they were only stopping lorries leaving if they had safety police officers at the site stopped strikers' obstruction tactics by threatening arrest and West Midlands force told the BBC in April it had not yet issued fines, because bin workers on the picket line were co-operating. Candy Manders, an NHS worker from Kings Norton, said she had had only two collection since the strike started."It is a public health hazard and despite the strike a service still needs to be provided," she said. "We are still also paying for a service that isn't being delivered."Speaking at Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, Sir Keir Starmer called on Unite to end the strike "immediately", and said the government continued to support the council so that the backlog of rubbish collections did not reappear. 'Service transformation needed' Last week, the council said it had cleared 100% of the large piles of waste in the hot spot areas and 85% across the rest of the recycling collections remain suspended, it has urged residents to continue putting out household waste bins for collection."Before industrial action began, our crews were collecting about 1,000 to 1,100 tonnes of waste per day," the local authority's website reads."However, in recent weeks, our crews have collected 1,500 to 1,700 tonnes of waste each day, with a reduced team."This highlights the need for transformation in the service we provide to residents." The strike initially centred on a dispute with the council over its decision to remove Waste Recycling and Collection Officer roles, but the row has since expanded after the authority revealed there were also plans to cut the pay of bin lorry council recently said it must make changes to comply with equal pay laws, but it was committed to finding a fair and sustainable added "negotiations are continuing" and previously told the BBC its job evaluation process was "fair and transparent".The strike has attracted worldwide coverage with images of large waste piles and claims of rats as big as cats.
